Bruce Von Stiers

I am constantly on the lookout for new types of media to review. I have reviewed books from tiny publishing houses written by totally unknown writers. I have checked out graphic software that a guy developed in his spare time. And I have listened to some independent rock music by artists who hadn’t found a major label yet. Every once in a while I will get a chance to review music by an artist that I have never heard of, but is somewhat famous anyway. Such is the case of an artist that I read about. He had just released a CD that had the violin as the lead instrument. This artist is a violinist who has worked on Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville albums. He also played on Carlos Santana’s Supernatural album. The violinist’s name is Jeremy Cohen. The title of this CD is 4tet San Francisco. Jeremy has a style that he has termed as Violinjazz.

There are 13 songs on 4tet San Francisco. They range from classical to pop and things in between. The CD is 40 minutes long. Cohen arranged all but one of the songs on the CD. The other one was arranged by Larry Dunlop. The music was recorded at the Skywalker Ranch. That part is kind of cool and the fact that Cohen played violin for John William’s Star Wars Trilogy.

Jeremy plays the lead violin on the album. James Shalenberger also does violin duty. Emily Onderdonk plays the viola and Joel Cohen the cello. Jim Kerwin chimes in on bass in the eleventh through thirteenth songs.

I normally don’t listen to classical music. I really don’t know a Mozart piece from a Brahms. And I didn’t recognize any of the names of the older, classical types of music. The songs on this album, while not exactly stodgy, aren’t exactly what I would call jazz. For jazz I normally think of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker or Miles Davis. But the album does have a couple of songs on it from Dave Brubeck and another by Henry Mancini

As I mentioned above, I really don’t know classical music. So I don’t really know if the first song on the album is a classical tune or not. The song is Felicia by Enrique Saborido. It has a little hop to it, reminding me of some of those Bugs Bunny cartoons with the violin music in the background. The second song is almost the same as the first in that it is peppy, while sounding slightly classical. This song is Penguin by Raymond Scott.

The third song is Comme II Faut by Eduardo Arolas. It reminds me of a ballroom in one of those films about sixteenth century royalty. The fourth song is Strange Meadowlark by Dave Brubeck. It sounds like romantic background music for a Carey Grant movie. Siberian Sleighride is the sixth song on the album and sounds like a playful trip through the snow.

The seventh song is one of my all times favorites. It is Pink Panther by Henry Mancini. There is hardly anyone who wouldn’t recognize this song. The next song is Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder. Like the previous song, it is one that both easily recognized and enjoyed.

Other songs on the album include Powerhouse, Toy Trumpet, Gallo Ciego and Libertango. There Duke Ellington’s Jubilee Stomp and Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo A La Turk.

I liked listening to 4tet San Francisco. I’m still not sure that this music fits into the jazz arena, others listeners probably do. Each of us has our own opinions on what music should fall under which category. I know the guy that gives my son private saxophone lessons thinks that Kenny G is a pop star and only true sax players like Charlie Parker are jazz musicians.

You can check out samples of the album at www.violinjazz.com. If you like what you hear, you can order a copy of 4tet San Francisco from the web site as well.